As Time Goes By
by PoseidonDemon
Summary: Kakashi is collecting his thoughts in front of Obito's grave. An empty grave. Tobi, for his part, is waiting for being alone to take off his mask. Strange title for a crazy hypothesis concerning the identity of the masked Akatsuki member.


Hello people ! If you don't know me –which is more than possible-, then I think I should stress the fact that I'm a seventeen years old French boy. Therefore, it would be kind of you to correct my possible mistakes and to be comprehensive. I've been studying English for seven years, but I'm not fluent yet, nor eloquent like a dictionary. Concerning the story, I got the idea thanks to a drawing I saw, depicting Obito wearing Tobi's mask. And I felt like writing something melodramatic, hence the part involving Kakashi. I hope it will please you. Naturally, reviews are welcome and expected ! =D

**Genre****:** Hurt/Comfort/Suspense.

**Pairing ****:** Friendship Kakashi+Obito ?

**Disclaimer****:** I own this one-shot story, but the characters and universe of _Naruto_ belong to **Masashi Kishimoto.**

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"_As time goes by, everything goes away."_

That was the proverb. But did the ones who thought this maxim have any idea of what a soul can keep within itself ? About how a conscience, as a punishment toward itself, could insidiously cultivate a guilt which pretends to vanish, only to finally better catch the one who bears it in their solitary moments ? In the middle of the night, when feeling it's time for torment again, it exudes those images we wish we had never seen ; those things we wish we had never thought, felt, done. Or now, in front of this grave. Though his name was engraved in the stone, though his sepulchre was up to what he believes his occupant deserves, it doesn't help this coldness taking hold, and his heart, suddenly empty, weighing so heavy on his chest.

The setting sun reflecting on his silvery grey hair, Hatake Kakashi briefly raised his head to contemplate the last rays of the day star. For a few seconds, he felt a sweet warmth on his face, and his only obsidian iris lit up. Then he bent his head again and lightly brushed his left eye, hidden by his village's characteristic headband, with his hand. This scarlet eye he was hiding, while he could have been rather proud of it. The Sharingan, the copy eye which earned him his kopī-nin title ; the exclusive property of the Uchiha, theoretically. Not only wasn't he proud of if, but the excuse the constant activation of this cursed dōjutsu gave him to hide it suited him well. He couldn't stand seeing this eye on his face.

"I'm pretty unworthy of your gift. I'm sorry, Obito."

Sorry for divulging this eye only in the midst of sad, violent or even bloody scenes. Sorry for not being able to show him this future he so much wished he were a part of. Sorry for not having known how to redeem himself like he wished he could have.

He gave a hint of a smile, concealed under the mask constantly covering the lower part of his face.

What a stupid idea. It would only have been deceiving himself, giving himself an excuse to feel less guilty for having let him perish under those rocks. Nevertheless, as soon as he had seen him, he's been immediately convinced it was his duty. That Obito would have wished things turned out differently, and that he had to follow this will with consideration for his dead friend as much as for trying to save this soul from the darkness in which it was drowning. Uchiha Sasuke. One of both Uchiha still alive, who was aspiring to annihilate the only family he still had. Even though Itachi honestly wasn't an example to be followed.

"Oh. Sorry, Obito. You, you liked him, your cousin Itachi, didn't you ? You know, it's quite funny when thinking about it again. Even if Sasuke and you may look alike, I always had the feeling my team was a mirror image of ours. You, you were clumsy, not very talented, rather loud and pretty rude sometimes, a bit like Naruto. On the contrary, Sasuke reminded me of myself in my early years. Hardworking, self-controlled. Distant. Unfortunately, I haven't succeeded in turning him away from this revenge desire which was consuming him. Then I've hoped Naruto could do for him what you did for me. But I think it's too late now... Maybe if you had remained alive, things would have been different. Who knows ?"

Once again, Kakashi sadly smiled. He often happened to talk to his former teammate's grave during his numerous visits and, from time to time, he got the feeling Obito was somehow responding him from the other side, making a sign to him. But not today. The wind wasn't slightly blowing through the trees foliages, the animals were hiding, even village's noises seemed to have fallen silent. In the distance, opposite the sun, the sky was clouding over in grey little by little. The kopī-nin then laid down the madonna lily he was hitherto holding on the young Uchiha's cenotaph and looked at it one last time, before leaving, his look still nostalgic, but seeming relieved.

"See you, Obito."

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"Aaaa-aaaaa-tishoo !"

The sneeze thunderingly echoed throughout the forest, causing birds to fly away from their branch in fright, and rabbits and other wood rodents to flee. But, driven by a quite animal curiosity, a squirrel stayed, and went toward the source of the racket which had frightened all its companions. There, walking alone on a beaten earth path, was a human. It was, a priori, a male. Standard-sized, with messed-up black hair with bluish highlights. He was wearing a strange black outfit on which white-outlined red clouds were drawn. On one of his black-painted fingers, more precisely his left thumb, a seal ring encrusted with a purple gemstone bearing the symbol "Sphere" was slipped. But what struck the most in his look was without any doubt the odd orange mask he was wearing, of which the concentric circles it was bearing shrinked all the way to an unique orifice at the level of the right eye, and didn't show anything of his face features.

"Someone must be talking about Tobi !" the boy, or maybe the man, exclaimed, doing as if he was brushing his nose, though it was technically impossible for him.

He went on walking the path, until getting into a glade crossed by a small watercourse. Keen on the idea of being able to refresh himself, because the air was quite sultry here, the last newcomer from the criminal organisation Akatsuki cheerfully went toward the stream, and, after having taken a careful peek around him, removed his mask with caution, letting some jet-black streaks fall on his forehead. He firstly took a water gulp with his hands, then heartily splashed his face. Afterwards, he let his arms fall along his body, and raised the head, losing his gaze in the dark clouds. A storm was at hand. His mouth crooked in a half-smile, while drops were slowly streaming on his face. Whoever would have seen him would have estimated his age about twenty, perhaps less, since he's got relatively youthful features. One of the waterdrops smudging his face accidentally entered his right eye, and he closed it by reflex. When he opened it again, his red iris, punctuated by what seemed to be three supplementary pupils, looked glassy, and he somnambulistically moved his hand to his disabled eye.

"How did I lose you ?" he said in a low voice. "When... and where ?"

Suddenly, the thunder started to roar, and a lightning striated the clouds. Dazzled by this sudden light, the young man closed his only eye anew, in a big way this time, and blurred and inconsistent images formed in his memory. But he couldn't manage to distinguish what he saw, because, like everytime it happened to him, a violent pain bored into his skull. He was feeling like rocks were crashing on him, and that he was breaking into thousand pieces.

"N-No ! Help me ! Don't let go... Don't let go of my hand ! Who are you ?"

He saw someone bending over him. Two purple rectangles. And, far away, some kind of silvery sparkle. As suddenly as this piercing pain occured, it ceased. The young nuke-nin then reopened the eyes, gasping, and noticed he had cowered in a foetal position and pressed his hands against his tempes. While his soul was tormenting him, the storm had finally broken and it was profusely raining now. His look fell on his mask, laid next to him, and he relaxed, his able eye now glowing with mischief, the other one hidden by his water-soaked raven black hair.

"Tobi gotta set off !" he shouted, rapidly running a hand through his hair, before putting his mask back on. Then, now at a ninja pace, he crossed the watercourse and vanished into the forest.


End file.
